Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabwe now a police state
29 Aug 2016 at 16:42hrs | Views
The successive police brutality in Harare portray that Zimbabwe is now a police state and that the Zanu-PF government wants to declare war on citizens and a state of emergency.
The brutality exhibited by the police over the past few days show that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has failed to transform itself from a vicious colonial force over 36 years after independence.
This brutality shows that Zanu-PF wants Zimbabwe to be a police state and declare a state of emergency.
The horrifying images of the police attacking innocent citizens in central Harare last Wednesday and Friday, is an indication that we now have a police state contrary to the country's Constitution.
However, the Zanu-PF regime wants to take Zimbabwe to that era and deprive Zimbabweans their democratic rights of holding peaceful demonstrations and freedom of association and expression.
More shocking is that heavily armed police officers have also blocked people from attending the bail hearing of 75 citizens who were illegally arrested on Friday in central Harare.
As the People's Democratic Party (PDP), we strongly condemn this gross abuse of human rights violations by the state and non-state agents.
We also denounce the use of threats of violence by Zanu-PF youths who were on Sunday in the presence of the police and yet no action was taken.
The state media has also joined in issuing threats of violence and peddling falsehoods by accusing opposition parties of training terrorist.
It is clear that the Zanu-PF government has panicked and will try to use all evil acts including shedding of innocent blood as it tries to suppress the citizens' democratic rights.
As PDP, we say no the declaration of a state of emergency and we say to a police state.
As PDP, we therefore urgent the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), to urgently intervene because there is going to be loss of life in Zimbabwe.
#TogetherAnotherZimbabweIsPossible!!!
Jacob Mafume
PDP National Spokesperson
The brutality exhibited by the police over the past few days show that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has failed to transform itself from a vicious colonial force over 36 years after independence.
This brutality shows that Zanu-PF wants Zimbabwe to be a police state and declare a state of emergency.
The horrifying images of the police attacking innocent citizens in central Harare last Wednesday and Friday, is an indication that we now have a police state contrary to the country's Constitution.
However, the Zanu-PF regime wants to take Zimbabwe to that era and deprive Zimbabweans their democratic rights of holding peaceful demonstrations and freedom of association and expression.
More shocking is that heavily armed police officers have also blocked people from attending the bail hearing of 75 citizens who were illegally arrested on Friday in central Harare.
As the People's Democratic Party (PDP), we strongly condemn this gross abuse of human rights violations by the state and non-state agents.
The state media has also joined in issuing threats of violence and peddling falsehoods by accusing opposition parties of training terrorist.
It is clear that the Zanu-PF government has panicked and will try to use all evil acts including shedding of innocent blood as it tries to suppress the citizens' democratic rights.
As PDP, we say no the declaration of a state of emergency and we say to a police state.
As PDP, we therefore urgent the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN), to urgently intervene because there is going to be loss of life in Zimbabwe.
#TogetherAnotherZimbabweIsPossible!!!
Jacob Mafume
PDP National Spokesperson
Source - Jacob Mafume
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